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Apple TV - page 99

tvOS 10 turns Apple TV into a more serious gaming console

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apple tv and siri remote
Apple TV games are no longer required to use Siri Remote.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You won’t be forced to use Apple’s teeny tiny Siri Remote to play games on Apple TV much longer.

Apple is turning its little black box into a more serious gaming console with tvOS 10 by giving developers the ability to require a third-party controller for games.

tvOS update makes Siri search better than ever

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Eddy Cue unveiled the future of tvOS.
Eddy Cue unveiled the future of tvOS.
Photo: Apple

The next generation of tvOS for Apple TV will be more powerful than ever thanks to some huge new updates Apple unveiled today at the company’s WWDC keynote.

Apple VP Eddy Cue showed off new features for Apple’s set-top box that make Siri more powerful than ever while also giving developers new tools to create better tvOS app experiences.

Apple TV apps may be struggling to retain their users

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apple tv and siri remote
Apple TV's App Store may have some challenges.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

tvOS devs may be driven away from developing for Apple TV, claims a new report citing poor audience retention rates.

Suggesting that users are “generally disinterested” in Apple TV, the report from mobile app analytics company adjust says they found that just 8.9 percent of users return to a tvOS app seven days after installing it. That’s roughly half the number seen on mobile devices, where the comparable numbers stand at nearly 20 percent on tablets and 18.5 percent on smartphones.

Apple will live stream WWDC keynote

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Get ready for iOS 10.
Get ready for iOS 10.
Photo: Apple

You won’t have to go all the way to San Francisco to watch Apple’s big WWDC keynote as it happens.

Apple revealed today that it will offer a live stream of the event, which will be held June 13 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The company is expected to unveil iOS 10, OS X 10.12 and much more at the software-oriented keynote in front of thousands of lucky developers.

Apple’s updated WWDC app gets tvOS support and a dark theme

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Will Apple hold WWDC on June 13 - 17 this year at the Moscone Center?
Apple is set to takeover the Moscone center.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With WWDC 2016 set to kick off in just 10 days, Apple has released a new update to its annual WWDC app that makes it easy to keep track of all the new software and announcements, even if you’re not attending the conference.

Developers will now be able to virtually attend sessions thanks to the new live streaming tools that come with the new tvOS version of the WWDC app, as well as multitasking picture-in-picture option for the iPad version.

Amazon Alexa is now at your service in your web browser

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Ask Alexa to manage your appointments for you.
You don't need an Amazon speaker to enjoy Alexa anymore.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Amazon Alexa, the powerful virtual assistant found inside the retail giant’s Echo speaker, is now available in your browser. It can answer your questions and even control your smart devices, and all you need is an Amazon account and a microphone.

Apple’s Echo rival will always be watching you

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Can Apple top the amazing Amazon Echo?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Details of Apple’s upcoming Amazon Echo competitor are starting to surface, and it sounds like it could be both Apple’s most futuristic and creepiest product yet. 

The iPhone-maker is considering adding a camera to its Echo rival, according to a new report that claims the device will be able to tell who is using it just by looking at you.

Apple TV could become an Amazon Echo rival

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apple tv and siri remote
A new Apple TV could be Apple's answer to Alexa.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is planning to open Siri up to third-party developers and it appears that Apple TV could be the biggest benefactor from the expanded platform.

In order to better compete with Amazon’s Echo devices, Apple reportedly plans to update the Apple TV with more Siri features that will hopefully turn the device into the hub of everything.

Google kills its first Apple TV competitor

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The Nexus Player is no longer available.
The Nexus Player is no longer available.
Photo: Google

Google has again given up on competing with the Apple TV and other set-top boxes after discontinuing the Nexus Player. The Asus-made device is no longer available from the Google Store — but this doesn’t mean Android TV is dead.

OS X and tvOS get new beta updates ahead of WWDC

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New El Capitan beta is here.
Photo: Apple

Apple is busting out a fresh batch of beta updates for developers today ahead of next month’s big WWDC announcements.

A new beta for OS X El Capitan had been seeded to developers along with an update for tvOS and iOS 9.3.3 that was released earlier this morning.

BitTorrent to stream live content to Apple TV, iOS and Mac

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BitTorrent Live wants to make streaming even greater.
Photo: BitTorrent

In an effort to shake off its shady image, BitTorrent is launching a new streaming service that will bring a number of live channels to Apple TV, iOS, and Mac.

The service is called BitTorrent Live, and it will initially offer news, sport, music, and more.

New Apple TV loses to Roku in U.S.

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apple tv and siri remote
The Apple TV had a surge of sales last year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The fourth generation Apple TV experienced the largest increase in unit sales last year among streaming media players but it hasn’t been good enough to supplant Roku as the top streamer in the U.S. 

Apple TV’s biggest weakness appears to be its price point. New research shows that smaller stick streamers made up half of last year’s sales and Apple’s competition reaped the rewards.

Why Apple is optimistic, a one-year Apple Watch appraisal, and killer Instagram tips

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Why is Apple so optimistic?
Why is Apple so optimistic?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s executive team is optimistic about the company’s future, despite a bleak earnings call. And why wouldn’t they be? Apple’s slump brought in more money than most other tech companies out there.

Read all about the positive spin in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, along with a trick to making your iOS folders look round with no jailbreak required, a frank appraisal of the Apple Watch one year in, 8 killer Instagram tips, the world’s biggest Apple Museum and much, much more.

Here are the top stories for this week.

How to use your Apple Watch to control your Apple TV

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Control your Apple TV from your Apple Watch.
Control your Apple TV from your Apple Watch.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

What a magical world we live in. We can lift our Apple Watch up to listen to music, talk to our friends, and (yes) even tell the time.

If you’re an Apple TV user, you can send your Apple Watch tunes to the big screen, and you can even control your Apple TV right from your wrist.

Simply magical. Here’s how to control your Apple TV with your Apple Watch.

New MacBooks, Prince’s legacy, Apple Watch tips and more

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New MacBooks have us a bit underwhelmed.
New MacBooks have us a bit underwhelmed.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Faster processors, speedier memory, longer battery life and a rose gold finish — what more do we need from a new MacBook? We love Apple gear, but it’s possible we’re getting addicted to the “wow” factor.

Add that to Prince’s untimely death, and the dearth of streaming options for listening to his music, and we’ve got a lot to talk about. It’s all in this week’s free Cult of Mac Magazine, along with reviews of Amazon’s new Echo smart speakers and 12 awesome Apple Watch tricks that prove Cupertino’s wearable doesn’t need a “killer app.”

Here are this week’s top stories.

Now you can try Apple’s latest batch of betas

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Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Members of Apple’s public beta testing program can now get their hands on all the new software updates Apple dropped on developers yesterday.

New betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and OS X have been seeded to the public, bringing a bunch of bug fixes for every Apple platform, as well as some new features on iPhone.

How to get Apple Maps on your Apple TV (sort of)

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Plan your next trip from your couch.
Plan your next trip from your couch.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Have you ever tried to plan a trip with your posse while gathered around your iPhone? It’s kind of a mess. The tiny screen doesn’t really lend itself to larger viewings. Even an iPad is much smaller than one of those big-old paper maps we used to use to group plan.

If you want to use a big screen to find your way to a road trip this summer, perhaps TV Maps by Arno Appenzeller will do the trick, letting you plan a trip right on your giant screen TV.

This third-party Apple TV app will let you search a destination, get directions, and then send everything to the companion app on your iPhone, which will then launch Apple’s Map app to get you where you need to be.

Here’s how.

Apple is secretly planning to take over Hollywood 

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Apple TV might get exclusive TV shows.
Apple TV might get exclusive TV shows.
Photo: Apple

Hollywood’s top filmmakers held secret meetings with Apple at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, according to a new report that claims Apple is planning to make a big play to take on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video by creating its own original TV shows and movies.

Apple hosted a secret ‘iTunes Lounge’ at Sundance for a number of invitation-only events for film makers, producers, actors, and other A-list talent to hear the company’s pitch on how it plans to create a ton of original content that will be exclusively available on Apple TV.

Apple reveals how long its devices typically last

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How long do you keep your Apple devices?
Photo: Cult of Mac/Ken Marshall CC

How many years do you use your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac before shutting it down for the last time and sending it to the big Apple Store in the sky?

While Apple products are typically far more solid and long-lasting than those made by rivals, the company offers a clue in a newly released document concerning Apple and its commitment to the environment.

Don’t wake the baby! Use Bluetooth headphones with Apple TV

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Use Bluetooth headphones to watch Apple TV quietly.
Use Bluetooth headphones to watch Apple TV quietly.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If you’re anything like me, you knew that the new 4th-generation Apple TV supported Bluetooth devices like the Siri Remote, game controllers, and even keyboards, but you didn’t twig to the fact that it might also let you use Bluetooth headphones, too.

In point of fact, though, it does support them, letting you watch Netflix or game on your Apple TV without the sound of your activities waking the baby or a sleeping partner. How great is that?

Here’s how to set it up.

HTC 10 supports Apple AirPlay right out of the box

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HTC 10 will stream straight to Apple TV.
Photo: HTC
HTC 10 will stream straight to Apple TV. Photo: HTC
HTC 10 will stream straight to Apple TV. Photo: HTC

If you’re thinking about swapping your iPhone for the new HTC 10, that decision just got a lot easier.

HTC has made its new flagship compatible with Apple’s AirPlay platform right out of the box, allowing it to play nicely with your Apple TV and other AirPlay devices without any additional hardware or software.

Kobe Bryant’s Apple TV ad is genuinely hilarious

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One of Apple's funniest ad pairings in years?
Photo: Apple

Apple dropped a new ad for its fourth-generation Apple TV over the weekend, and it’s actually hilarious!

Called “Father Time,” the ad features Lakers player Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan (of Chronicle and Creed fame) as they bicker while showing off Apple TV’s smart Siri Remote and App Store. Check it out below.